Sep 2, 2007 / 12:07 pm
On Saturday, the Italian Church sponsored its annual “Saving Creation Day” in Loreto, Italy. Pope Benedict helped mark the day by telling the 300,000 young people gathered at the popular Marian shrine, that they must be responsible with the gift of God’s creation.
Marking “Save Creation Day”, an initiative of the Italian bishops, the Pope also called on the young people present to protect the environment, asking them to “react urgently .... to recreate a strong bond between Man and Earth and to reverse trends which risk causing irreparable damage."
Before it is too late, the Pope said, “it is necessary to have the courage to choose, to recreate a strong alliance between man and the land. A decisive ‘yes’ is needed to protect creation and to provide a strong commitment to reverse those tendencies that risk making certain situations irreversible.”
Benedict XVI also made a particular appeal to safeguard the precious resource of water, and warned that “if it is not shared in a fair and peaceful manner, severe tensions will unfortunately turn into harsh conflicts”.